Determination
by Dclnsfrd
Summary: Frisk and some monsters are now living on the surface amongst the humans, while other monsters still live underground. But no matter where they are, a mysterious figure stalks their memories and nightmares. (Female non-silent Frisk, spoilers included with some deviations from the game, no foreseeable ships. WARNING: Possible paranoia triggers.)
1. You're gonna have a bad time

**Author's Note:**

 **Hello! This story is written from the perspective of Frisk being female, having been more of a teenager during the events of Undertale, and now living amongst the humans in the same house as Sans, Papyrus, Undyne, and Toriel. I don't have the heart* to do a genocide run (but I am apparently pretty fine with writing about it) so I apologize for any crucial details I get wrong. Please feel free to review if you enjoyed this chapter, want to say hi, know who stole all of my left socks, etc.**

 ***no pun intended, but I'll claim it.**

 **And if you enjoy this, make sure to check out my other stories! :)**

* * *

The two stood there, but Frisk had a hard time not zoning him out. The ash that stuck to her sweat was so much more interesting. It wasn't blood- if it was, then her knife would have been just as interesting- but having the powdered remains of monsters caressing her skin was so much more engaging than whatever he was saying about the weather.

"... children like you," he said, catching her attention, "should be burning in hell."

Frisk opened her eyes, screaming. Even in the benign darkness of her room, she could still see that deathly blue fire burned into her eyes. The fire burning in his left eye. Without warning, the lights came on, forcing her to close her eyes for several excruciating seconds and see that face all the more clearly. The one that had sought her death. The one that was right next to her bed.

She screamed again, launching her foot out of her bed and landing a solid blow to where his nose would have been if he had one. If she wasn't so terrified, she would have laughed at being able to send him across the room into a pile of dirty laundry.

"this is cruel," a muffled voice said under the dirty socks. "i guess you could say, it stinks!"

Her heart was still racing from the grip of the nightmare, but that insufferable pun reduced the strength it had on her. She untangled herself from her blanket and walked over.

"I'm sorry, Sans," she said, helping him move the clothes and stand up.

"i have to hand it to you," he said as she pulled him up, "i didn't expect such a young human to have such a kick to them!"

Frisk wanted to chuckle at Sans' attempts at human-based puns, but too much fear and embarrassment kept her mouth in a straight line.

"which dream was it this time," he asked, his smile more an incidental factual feature than an expression of emotion. Frisk looked down and shook her head. "oh," he replied. "everyone else is still asleep, but you don't have to go back to bed," he added, leaving. He had a good idea which nightmare this was. If this happened after the others had woken up, he would try to leave her with one of them. But whether or not she was alone, he knew it was better for the both of them if they didn't see each other again until after she calmed down. He walked into the room he shared with his brother, Papyrus, and saw him still asleep on the top bunk. He quietly walked over to touch his arm and make sure that it wasn't just a pile of ash. As his fingerbone made a gentle tap on Papyrus' leg bone- eliciting a quiet "NYEH HEYH HEYH…."- he decided that he should wait in the kitchen until Frisk felt a little better. He knew it was a nightmare, but the two of them were the only ones who knew. The two who remembered everything the best.

Including the time when she murdered both him and his brother.


	2. Battle Buddy

**Author's note: Hello! I hope you enjoyed the last chapter(prologue?) I posted. I don't know how often I can update this story, or how long each chapter will be, but I will try to write as often as I can. :) Also, for anyone who might be confused, Papyrus is supposed to speak in all caps.**

 **Feel free to leave a review! Well, maybe not leave. Don't abandon that poor review to face the world all alone. At least give that review some money until it can get a job to support itself. And you can always stay in touch with your review on Facebook.**

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Undyne gave a groggy moan and pushed herself into an upright position in her bed, tugging at the parts of the blanket which still stuck to her scaly skin. She wasn't sure if that noise was a dream or not, but she needed a drink of water anyway, so she went to investigate. She stumbled out of her room to find Frisk and Sans talking at the kitchen table.

"What's going on," she asked as she rubbed her one good eye with one hand as she reached for a water glass with the other. "I thought I heard an awesome fight, but then it stopped. Do you-" she stopped, staring as Frisk took her hand out from under Sans' and cover her face. Undyne approached them, the thumping of her steel-toed pajama boots punctuating her question.

"What. are. you. doing. to. my. BESTIE?" She ended her inquisition with a shout, bearing her numerous fanged teeth, giving that stupid skeleton a backhand that knocked him onto the floor. She took his chair, despite his protests and comments about getting fish-slapped, and took Frisks' hands in hers with violent friendship. " _ **This can be fixed with a pint of ice cream and the blood of our enemies**_ ," Undyne explained, consoling her so loudly that Frisk wished she had earplugs.

"I just had a bad dream," she replied, managing to wrench her hands free of Undyne's grip.

"Is that all," she asked, laughing. "I think it's time for a Bestie Battle!"

Frisk couldn't help but smile at Undyne's unique flavor of glee as they went to their rooms to gather their weapons and meet in the field near the house. She knew that Undyne's Bestie Battles had an abnormally high occurrence of wine burns and pizza lacerations, but ever since Toriel made her lower the fatality rating to 0.00000001%- old age waits for many- Frisk often left those battles with a renewed sense of control and positivity. Undyne often told her that she needed to remember more about thus-and-such, but Frisk often ignored those comments. It wasn't that she completely disagreed, but her problem wasn't so much forgetting as remembering too much. So she learned to sift through Undyne's distressingly loud encouragements to find what she was trying to say.

"I think that you may be surprised at my attacks," Undyne called out, her features obscured by the rising sun behind her. Frisk shielded her eyes for a moment to see better, to remind herself that she wasn't sparring an unseen opponent who wielded painful death. This was just Undyne, someone who wielded painful friendship. Frisk smiled and adjusted her bandana to reduce some of the glare.

"That's what you say every time, and I never am," she replied. Not to say that she didn't admire Undyne's style or was bored by them, but she was amused at the fact that such a strong fighter could make the unpredictable so predictable. And how a bit of friendly antagonization at the beginning of a Bestie Battle could make Undyne smile so large afterwards with whatever number of teeth she had left. She shook her head briskly to bring herself into the moment when she aw her Bestie Battle Buddy-she maintained that the name wasn't her idea- change her stance. Frisk rotated her shoulders, wondering which type of of speech her sparring partner was going to make before they began that day when she felt a strong wind sweep past her and a slight pain at the outside of her left arm. She was able to jump out of her shock and the path of the next blow quickly enough where her tutu was the only thing that met Undyne's spear.

"It must be never-o'clock, because you sure look surprised," Toriel shouted from the fence a few yards away, only looking away to see if it was a bug or a twig that landed in her long, soft, white fur.

"Now it's time to finally get rid of that tutu and use something more fabulous," Mettaton shouted, his glamorous robot body making victory poses which were a little too emphatic for just a clothing injury. Frisk glanced over and saw that a few more were walking up to get a better view of the spectacle. They weren't allowed to live within five miles of any human businesses or dwellings (it would've been fifty if Frisk didn't reassure the leaders that she was a human member of their household) so these sparring matches often drew a crowd.

"UNDYNE, WHAT ARE YOU DOING," Papyrus asked, marching through the field, his red cape caught in the breeze, held in place by his basketball shoulder pieces which stayed firmly at the edges of his skeletal frame as basketballs are rarely wont to do. "YOU SAID THAT TODAY WE WOULD PRACTICE MAKING FETTUCCINE!"

"use your noodle, numb-skull," his travel-sized brother commented, managing to keep a leisurely pace without being more than a few steps behind the irritated Papyrus. "she's busy."

Toriel grew pale and asked, "She didn't say she would use our kitchen, did she?"

"NO, SHE KNOWS THAT YOU WANT US TO USE THE COOKING PALACE," he replied. Toriel gave a sigh, glad that the large shed on the back of their property would be the only thing that would suffer during Undyne's cooking lessons. They reached the agreement after Torriel's third new stove and a fifth warning from the fire department.

"WHEN DO YOU THINK THEY'LL FINISH," asked Papyrus.

"It shouldn't be long," Toriel answered. She looked at the two as they leapt about, spears flying, banter bouncing back and forth, with only a tree or two being uprooted. "They seem too tired to last much longer," she added. She had heard a scream that morning and jumped out of her bed, afraid it was the young human she had watched over since she was a much younger human. But Sans assured her that it was just one of Frisk's bad nights and that he would check on her. Not long after they broke the barrier that kept monsters from the surface word, Toriel thought she heard those screams sometimes. She had tried to comfort Frisk herself in those days, but she didn't know why that normally smiling face turned to such despair when she tried to comfort her on those nights. When she had asked Sans to explain what he meant about no one else understanding Frisk's bad times, he replied that it was because no one else understood his bad times. That was the last time she felt capable enough to even broach the topic.

She looked as Frisk stood with one foot on the defeated Undyne and hoped that Frisk would remember her victories.

"It looks like I win, Bestie Battle Buddy," Frisk panted, her plastic knife aimed at Undyne.

"Oh, you won the battle," she replied, carefully moving Frisk's foot so she could stand up, "but it's because I won the war of being the best bestie ever! Only a true friend throws a fight for their friend!"

"Let's get some water," Frisk suggested, smiling as she helped Undyne off the ground.

"YES! WATER FOR EVERYONE," Papyrus said. "AND LET'S PUT IT ALL IN A POT AND MAKE PASTA WITH IT!"

"Not in my kitchen" Toriel shouted with less dread than anticipated as they all headed towards the house again.


	3. Ghost (Starring NOT-Patrick Swayze)

**Author's note:**

 **Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoy this next installment of the story.**  
 **www. alanwood demos/ wingdings. html**  
 **Feel free to leave a review. Feel free to smile at a stranger. Feel free to give me some money. Especially that last one...**

* * *

Dr. Alphys laid on the floor, her reptilian body sluggish from the cold tiles. It wasn't entirely unwelcome, but it was entirely too late.

"Activate heated floor," she said in bitter defeat. As the computer controlling her lab/home caused warmth to return to her, it also grew as shame across her face. She managed to push herself into a sitting position, her right hand stinging with an odd pain and sliding slightly on a pile of papers. Taking a better inventory of her surrounding, she saw that there were papers strewn about her, leaving an outline of her body. It was as if it had snowed sheets of research instead of tiny ice crystals, with a big research angel made in the middle. She didn't look much more closely, afraid that her suspicions of the papers' contents would be confirmed. Instead, she looked around the room to make sure that some part of her life was still in tact.

She could still hear anime being played on the computer upstairs, though she could not discern the episode and thus know how long she had been out. Looking at the tables, charts, various beakers and one flashing light, she saw that little else had changed. No, something did change. The light was new.

"Activate answering machine," she said, walking over to the device.

"One unheard message," the machine confirmed, it's voice reminiscent of an adolescent boy trying to become the best at something by running on trees and becoming several scantily-clad women at once.

"Play unheard message," she said before the machine promptly complied.

"H-hi, Alphys," came a female voice through the recording. The mixed desires of calling them back and destroying the phone collided into a painful immobility as the message continued. "It's Undyne. I know you're very busy with your projects," Alphys thought she could heard a soft interjection of victory being won through actually resting once in awhile, "but I wanted to say that I decided to emulate the fighting style from the human documentaries you showed me- the ones where the fighters' hair was almost as big as their sword- and it worked! I may have conceded the battle to Frisk to cheer her up, but I won!" There was a pause. "You never visit anymore. Frisk has grown taller and even smiles sometimes." Another pause. "If you visited, she might smile for you. And I might- **_And I might wipe that smile off her face as I vanquish her in glorious battle! But I wouldn't because it's not fair to mercilessly defeat a foe that is less than two percent of your own strength! FUHUHUHUHU!_** " The voice changed to that of the answering machine. "End of message. Believe it!"

"What do you mean, Undyne," whispered Alphys as the tears thumped on her lab coat. "She already beat you before. She beat everyone. Except me." She looked at her hands and saw that her right hand had blood from a shard of metal. She walked over to the sink and turned on the water, trying to work out the shard and clean the wound before finding her first aid kit. "Unfortunately," she added, looking to the clawed wreckage of a machine to her left. "Maybe then this would all be over."

"0x4E 0x4F," came a whisper behind her.

"I know," she answered, hoping that would be enough to get some privacy. The privacy which followed was not a result of her wish.


	4. Your Class is Grass

**Author's note: Please enjoy this next chapter. Please leave a review. Please don't look behind you until that breathing noise goes away.**

 **Please don't flame me for that last one.**

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Frisk pushed her school lunch around on the tray with her fork, keeping her eyes down. (It was rumored that the school lunches were comprised of food, but everyone knew that to be the stuff of fantasies.) Looking at the questionable material in front of her served as a shield from the fact that, yet again, no one wanted to sit next to her. Until the school decided that she was able to join classes of students her same age, she stayed with the younger monsters who knew nothing of life on the surface. They ate together, sat together, and got in trouble together. But as the monsters remained in the classes for younger students, both her class and lunch schedules changed. One day, she noticed that there was a larger crowd during lunch than before. Her hopes of someone being forced to sit with her were dashed as she saw students managing to balance their trays on one hand while eating, effectively upholding their distance at any cost. That's when she began her hobby of examining the school lunch. That's also when she began to wonder if Papyrus could start working for the cafeteria. Toriel had told her that after eating one of his spaghetti meals, she didn't vomit even once.

"Why doesn't that stupid monster-lover just leave," she heard a student ask a little too loudly.

"Who knows? I heard she's so stupid that she was kicked out of the monsters' class," a second voice guffawed.

"She was put in our class, stupid," the first girl yelled, followed by a yelp of pain from the second girl.

Frisk tried to see if looking at her lunch could block out noises as it did her view, but to no avail.

* * *

"Open your history books to chapter two," Toriel sighed, "And Spoopy, please stand up and read the title." She didn't mind occasionally being the substitute teacher if one of her colleagues fell ill, but the beginning of the semester meant starting the textbooks from the beginning. And somewhere near the beginning of the humans' history books was usually-

"'The War with Monsters: How Good Conquered Evil'," the student read. He stopped and looked at Toriel. "Is that true?"

"What do you mean, idiot," another student asked. "Of course it happened!"

"No, I," Spoopy flustered, trying to find his footing after that verbal blow. "I mean," he explained in a quieter voice, "were they all evil? The monsters."

Toriel smiled at the student who was so busy wrestling with that question that he seemed to have forgotten the concept of sitting down.

"Is every human evil," she asked. He ventured a glance upwards and shook his head. Directing her attention to the rest of the class, she asked, "Has there ever been a single human who was evil, or able to do evil things? At least one or two?" Some students nodded hesitantly. "If we can agree that one or two evil humans doesn't mean every human is evil, what if the same is true with monsters? That one or two evil monsters don't mean that every monster is evil?" In the silence, she motioned to the heckling student from before. "You're right. The war did happen. And we need to remember the past, whether or not it's easy. But let's also remember that there were different humans and monsters then, just like there are different humans and monsters today, okay? Now, Toby, please read the first paragraph."

* * *

"Okay, keep running! Keep running," the gym coach called out. Frisk preferred long walks, but her frequent sparring matches with Undyne helped her to summon the energy to keep pace with her classmates on the running track behind the school. After a few overzealous attempts, she learned how to leave enough energy to walk back inside after gym class.

"Looks like Monster Breath is catching up," a student panted as Frisk closed the gap. This was probably one of the students she overheard at lunch.

"Yeah, 'cause she kisses them all the time," said another student with a strange panting laugh that made Frisk worry for both the student's physical and mental state.

"Thanks for spelling out the obvious, idiot," the first one barked, trying to swing her arms in the path of the second student. Yes, these were definitely the two from that afternoon.

"You mean 'kill,'" Frisk said. She wasn't sure why she thought it, or how those three words found their way so easily out of her, but they did. From somewhere inside that she didn't know or wanted to admit existed, they did. The shock caused the two students to stumble, resulting in a three-student pile-up which the others easily steered around.

"What," the first girl whispered harshly, pulling up her friend.

"She doesn't mean it," the other said.

"No," the first girl said, staring at Frisk with a strange mix of fear and excitement, "I think she did."

"She did," a voice confirmed. The second girl looked around to see who it was, but could only see a nearby patch of wildflowers, with a large one moving against the breeze.


	5. The Title Was Throne Out

**Author's note: I'm so happy that so many people are reading my story! I'd be happier if I got some feedback on my story! I'd be even happier if I had the body of an athlete! I'd be less happy if that body belonged to someone first...**

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"And so I eagerly await your response on the future of trade between our kingdoms," King Asgore finished dictating to his canine messengers. "Did you write everything down, Messenger Temmie?"

"yes," Temmie exclaimed, her entire being and the air around her shaking with nervous excitement. "uh, kigg asgore," she began to jump around, "want to trade wid de humans," she gave several high-pitched barks, "and he will wait f' dem to-"

"Yes," he interrupted, gesturing for her silence, "that's what I want to tell them. Don't be so nervous," he said, smiling. "Didn't you conquer greater challenges when you went to college?"

Temmie's eyes went wide and she began to bark about essays, professors, and co-ed honor fraternities. Asgore's smile faltered as he looked as his other messenger, Greater Dog, and wondered if she was recalling past victories or if he accidentally said the completely wrong thing.

"We'll be fine," Greater Dog assured him. He gave a quick salute and bow before running after Temmie who had run out of the room at a speed which seemed to contradict her size, barking "temmie away!"

Asgore laughed as he stood alone in the room, both amused and apprehensive of the recent choice of messengers. Only time would tell if the plan to have their Representatives for Interspecies Trade be a Temmie and a Greater Dog would pay off. (Alphys was very insistent on the validity of the plan, citing humans' love of cute animals and unexpected things.) Though Frisk was officially the ambassador between humans and monsters, a few slammed doors showed that the humans had a tendency of accepting age over experience. His attempts to communicate with the humans over various matters were marginally better when he created sub-departments for ambassadors.

Sans, as the Representative for Interspecies Domestic Relations, astounded Asgore when he managed to procure land where he, Papyrus, Undyne and Toriel could live with and care for Frisk. Asgore thought that it would be more beneficial for cultural exchange if they lived closer to one of the human towns, but Sans assured him that living a few miles away had many more benefits. Neither of them seemed too confident in that claim, but Asgore chose not to press the matter. If they had adequate housing for five residents, then it was more than he could have hoped for them.

Toriel's ability to teach helped to give credence to her title of Representative for Interspecies Education, but Frisk told him that her kind yet stoic personae with the troublesome students was likely the reason the local school decided to give her a chance. But Asgore wondered if her similar appearance to him- the height, the build, the fur which seemed to pick up a million twigs and leaves but was more than worth it for its softness- might have afforded her the facade of acceptance until they can learn how much better theirs lives will be for embracing her and enjoying all her ups and downs as her mere presence improves their world.

He sat at his desk, looking at papers without reading them, trying to ignore those thoughts. He knew such selfish indulgence could only bring pain. He tried to call to mind all the times he was caught up in revenge and stealing souls despite her protests. The times when he decided to prize other things above her. The sight of her back to him the last day she set foot in their castle. In his castle.

The ache began to wane and he took a breath. Despite her faults, she had many admirable qualities. Of course he would desire something admirable, especially when he discovered that she found him admirable as well. And as he decided to desire other things, it stood to reason that she would seek someone or something else that wouldn't bring a mountain of pain for every two moments of laughter. And from the correspondence with Frisk, it seemed that she was laughing more than she had in many, many years. The ache settled into the background, along with his sore shoulder and the barks of the Lesser Dogs and Greater Dogs patrolling around the castle. He couldn't get her, no matter how much he worked, but he could work to help her get what was best for her. And after the castle had become one resident fewer, that was more than he could have hoped for.


	6. Schrödinger's Doctor

**Note: 0x45 0x6E 0x6A 0x6F 0x79**

 **www. alanwood demos/ wingdings. html**

 **And please leave a review. :)**

* * *

Alphys felt something shift. Whether it was the floor, the air, or whatever it was, she knew he was there. And the clock was ticking. She turned the knobs and tools and wrote notes all the more quickly, fueled by the drinks Frisk sent her from the human world bearing symbols of flying red bovine and something similar with three green markings on the container. She wondered if the latter would be better if it was made by actual monsters.

"0x57 0x68 0x79 ... 0x61 0x72 0x65 ... 0x79 0x6F 0x75 ... 0x64 0x6F 0x69 0x6E 0x67 ... 0x74 0x68 0x69 0x73," the voice asked.

Alphys ignored it, trying to salvage what little control she told herself that she had.

"0x59 0x6F 0x75 ... 0x63 0x61 0x6E 0x92 0x74 ... 0x73 0x74 0x64 0x70 ... 0x61 0x6E 0x79 ... 0x6F 0x66 ... 0x69 0x74," the voice added.

"Yes, I can," she shouted, scribbling all the more fervently to hide her elbow pressing the lab's video record button. If he knew that she was repositioning her recording equipment every so often, he never did anything to stop her.

"0x4E 0x6F 0x82 ... 0x79 0x6F 0x75 ... 0x63 0x61 0x6E 0x92 0x74," the voice said. "0x49 0x92 0x6D ... 0x74 0x68 0x65 ... 0x6F 0x6E 0x6C 0x79 ... 0x6F 0x6E 0x65 ... 0x77 0x68 0x6F ... 0x63 0x61 0x6E."

She stopped in confusion and turned as a face came rushing towards her. She opened her eyes again to find her papers ripped apart.


	7. Story Time

**Author's note: What? Two uploads in a single day? WHAT IS THIS? Well, it's two uploads in one day for my timezone, because I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload anything tomorrow (my time.) So I hope you enjoy this next part! (^.^)**

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The school bell rang that late October afternoon, its crass chorus typically a siren song for students to slip the surly bonds of school and touch the face of freedom. But rumor had it that two of the senior students had set up an unforgettable performance, one time only. Only a few decided to meet them as planned behind the school.

Debs and Bevs- Frisk was surprised to discover that those weren't just the two girls' nicknames- had been trying to press her for information regarding her slip of the tongue a few days before.

"What did you mean by 'killer,'" Debs would ask.

"I mean, we have killer fashion, but almost none of those monsters are at all 'killer.' Except that one guy," Bevs would add, trailing off.

"What does that even mean," Debs would shout, giving Bevs a light slap to the back of the head.

Every day, every free moment, it was practically unchanging. Frisk wished that there was some button she could press to speed through such predictable conversations. She had tried to dissuade them through numerous tactics, even trying to overwhelm them by telling them that there were more times than any one person should know. But it was to no avail.

For the umpteenth time, Debs and Bevs sat down with her during lunch as if it were the most natural thing in the world to do.

"Just tell us about one," Debs had begged, her frantic whispers belying her increasing obsession with something she wondered she might regret hearing.

"One time, and we won't ask for any more," Bevs had said with a lilting tone which showed utter ignorance of what she might hear.

Frisk wiped her eyes only to find that it was just her cheeks she felt burning, with no water to assuage it. Even that mild correction- that one word "kill,"- was the closest she had ever come to vocalizing her past. Her pasts, the ones that did and didn't happen. The ones that happened and were bleached clean from everyone's memory except hers and Sans'. All of those pasts rolled around in her, trying to claw their way out of secrecy. After the first few months on the surface, she discovered ways to keep from talking about everything to the others. Papyrus was easy enough to distract when he became too curious about her recently somber demeanor, and distracting Undyne usually involved using Papyrus. And why talk about it with Sans when he remembered almost everything she did? Maybe he was the reason Toriel didn't ask as many questions but just sat with her during the darker times. Whatever it was, there were now two classmates who refused to leave, refused to let her run, until she disclosed something. As she looked at them, one memory seemed to press the hardest against her, almost to the point of tearing her heart in two.

"Fine. I'll do it," Frisk had said, quickly agreeing to the secluded spot behind the school which they suggested. The rest of the day until the final bell seemed to slow down, speed up, and become utterly unreal. Time marched into the dark unknown, dragging her with it to whatever future or doom awaited. And she felt too tired to do anything else but try her best to keep up with the pace.

As the bell rang, Frisk tried to hurry as quickly as she could to the agreed-upon meeting place. Her heart was beating quickly, her legs were shaking and her stomach was turning. It reminded her of the time she got over a severe bout of food poisoning, but with fewer toilets. And as her legs ran of their own accord, she saw something else that she wouldn't want in this time or that; other people nearby.

As she honed in on Debs and Bevs and made her way to them, the five or so students who had little else to do cheered. For a moment, she wondered who was more despicable, her for what she was about to say or the students for applauding for the revelation of one of the parts of herself she hated the most. She turned her anger towards Debs and Bevs' unwelcome surprise before she had time to figure out the answer.

"You didn't say that there would be a million people here," she barked.

"Hyperbole much," one of the students asked, muttering.

"We just asked for you to tell us, to tell us just one of those times," said Bevs, walking inbetween Frisk and the other students. "So just look at us and tell us, okay? We really won't ever ask ever again."

Debs silently nodded, her usually towering demeanor crumbling away to a girl who found herself suddenly at a ghost-telling party. Bevs remained just as unsuspecting, looking just as apprehensive as if she were in history class about to hear a lecture. Frisk took a breath before beginning, but found that the exhale left her looking at Debs' and Bevs' shins with only enough strength left to stand and speak.

"After I climbed Mount Ebbot, I fell into a hole. After talking to, uh, someone, a monster took me in and cared for me. But she didn't want to let me leave. She kept saying that it was safer with her than trying to go through the caves and look for a way out. One day, she tried to stop me." She looked at her right hand, already drawn into a fist as it seemed to remember what it held that time. "So," Frisk continued, slowly raising her hand, suddenly unsure if it was one of the memories that everyone knew or forgot, "I took a knife I had found, aimed it at her, and-"

"flowey isn't a 'she,'" Sans said. Frisk stopped, wondering if she was hearing a strange memory. A yelp from Debs pulled her to the present as she saw that she wasn't the only one surprised by Sans' presence. "you weren't in front of the school where we usually meet, so i wanted to see what took you so long." She felt a little worried at his usually serious tone, but his smile told her that she needed to follow his lead. The plan was automatically helped by the fact that few humans, apart from Frisk, know how to differentiate a skeleton's myriad of smiles. "do you kids," he said directing his attention to the others, "really want to hear the same story that everyone had already heard, about frisk defeating a monster named flowey and saving the rest of the monsters? it's good for history, but maybe we can hear it some other time. i'm bone tired of it!"

A combination of annoyance at Sans' news and irritation at his pun led to a swift, silent scattering of students. Even Debs started to give a nervous, relieved laughter while Bevs sighed about not being able to hear a cool story. Frisk had already learned that it was a waste of time asking how Sans did anything, so she went to the next question as soon as everyone else was out of sight.

"Why did you do that?"

"i should be asking you," he answered. "do you think you're making amends for what you did by torturing yourself and maybe hurting others?"

"How do you-" she stopped, seeing her pain reflected back in his eye sockets. She tried to stop it, but the tears had other plans. Her face contorted with unspoken grief as she fell to her knees, burying her face in Sans' blue jacket as she tried to hide herself and her cries from the rest of the world. She felt his arms wrap around her and heard him whisper just a little louder than her pain.

"it's weird. we remember what everyone forgot. but we're okay. we survived. like when you apologize to someone. what happened happened, but it would do more harm than good to keep yourself in that past." After Frisk's crying began to subside, she let go of Sans, wiping her eyes and nose with her sleeves. "maybe we can tell someone someday. but maybe when life gets back to its normal level of crazy."

"What do you know about normal," Frisk asked, smiling. Sans pretended to hit her, his skeletal hands landing a foot short of where she melodramatically acted as if she were vanquished. After another hug, they started their walk home by the fading light of day.


	8. I Can Feel it in My Bones

**Author's note: This... may or may not have been largely based on a real-life event. And that person may have been very glad that there were no witnesses at the time.**

 **I know that it takes some time, but I would appreciate it if you left a review. I'd love to hear from people who can help me to keep this story going. :)**

* * *

Papyrus: Not-exactly-but-practically-a-member of the Royal Guard. Papyrus: Almost-victorious Human Hunter.

Papyrus: Frozen Between Going Back to Sleep and Getting Out of Bed.

"WHAT'S THIS," he whispered so as not to wake up Sans. "THIS ROOM IS TOO NOISY TO LET ME SLEEP!"

The quiet room gave no response.

"BUT THIS BED IS TOO SOFT FOR ME TO LEAVE!"

The stiff mattress said nothing in its defense.

"AH, THIS IS A TEST! UNDYNE TURNED UP THE HEATER TO SEE IF I WOULD TOUGH IT OUT AND FALL ASLEEP OR GET UP AND SOLVE THE PROBLEM MYSELF!"

Sans, bundled up in a thick blanket, continued to sleep.

"I WILL GET THE BETTER OF HER AND GIVE A SURPRISE ATTACK RIGHT NOW! IF I RUN OUT QUICKLY, IT WILL BE EVEN BETTER," he said inside his mind. He didn't feel safe speaking out loud, at least until he got out of his bed.

In one motion, he jumped out of bed. And in several subsequent motions, he found his way out from the cocoon of his blanket and stood upright.

"A QUIET ATTACK IS THE BEST ATTACK," he boldly whispered. He suddenly stopped, unsure of why he did so. He knew that this room only belonged to Sans and himself, but he felt as if something was in front of him in the dark. Focusing his vision, he saw a distorted white face a few inches in front of him. Like the one in his dreams. Like the one from so long ago. Like the one in his nightmares.

He decided that it was unworthy of one of his grand speeches as he shrieked and slapped it with his hand. He cried out in pain before it tapered out into a wordless question. He had witnessed many things in his years, but he wasn't so sure that a face was supposed to feel like that. He leaned his head to the left, keeping the rest of his body stationary, and saw a faint amount of light. Investigating with his hands, he found that he was near the light switch by the door. Venturing a quick flip of the switch on and off, he discovered the true nature of the beast.

He had just attacked the wall-mounted thermostat.

He ran out, this time trying to find a place to let out his laughter without waking anyone. He could never let Undyne know what had transpired, but he smiled widely at the absurdity of the situation.

The face in the window smiled as well.


	9. The March of Science

**Author's note: Well, a pretty slow work day means an early chapter release for y'all! :) I hope y'all enjoy it. I really appreciate the reviews I've recieved thus far and would appreciate more encouragement as well as feedback on how to grow this story, so it can *singing* blooooom and groooow foreeeeeeveeeeerrrrrr!**

* * *

"Um, er, uh, may I ask why you invited me to your office, sir," Alphys asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

Asgore couldn't help but smile. After all her time serving as the royal scientist, after everything they had been through together, she still was almost as nervous as the day she became an assistant to the former royal scientist. He was glad that she no longer burst into tears as unexpectedly as she did then.

"Well, I'm afraid the answer comes with a few questions of my own," he began, motioning to one of the chairs in front of his desk. She looked between him and the chair and shook her head, as if she chose to abstain from some monumentally difficult task. Asgore continued to stand with her. "The first question," he continued, "has to do with the increasing frequency of repair requests you've submitted. Would you care to enlighten me as to the reason for these repairs?"

"B-but sir, the, uh, the march of science isn't always precise, or tidy," she began, dropping her gaze more than usual.

"I guess I should have been more concise. It's both the frequency and the nature of the repairs," he added, leaning his head down slightly. He didn't want to force her to look at him, but he found this gesture was effective in showing Alphys that he needed some sort of answer. "And it's a little challenging for the workers to repair a machine whose workings are a long-kept secret."

"'Difficult' doesn't mean 'impossible.' It just means 'difficult.' Haha."

Asgore felt that he was right to question the recent upsurge in activity in the royal lab. Alphys sometimes had some terrible jokes, but that chuckle of hers was only heard when she was trying to keep a secret. And after his birthday four years ago, she was often kept out of the loop regarding pleasant surprises.

"You're usually very diligent in keeping others involved in any advancements you make, especially after…" He trailed off, hesitant to restate the experiments she confessed to doing in the other lab, the experiments she worked day and night to amend after Frisk broke the barrier between their kingdom and the surface world. "You tried to make things right," he said. "You tried to do better. So I'm worried about you keeping secrets that require numerous repairs."

Alphys began breathing rapidly and fidgeting with her hands and glasses and lab coat and would have fidgeted with his robes if he was within arm's reach. She wasn't always difficult for him to understand, though she was sometimes difficult to talk to without spooking. He waited until her breathing slowed before asking his next question. "Does this have to do with Dr. Gaster?"

She stopped her nervous movements and became still. After a minute, Asgore wondered if she was still breathing. Slowly, she lifted up her head and stared at him. He gasped as he saw her look at him with a heaviness he never knew she had. That he never thought she could carry.

"I shouldn't gossip about someone who's listening," she said with a nervous smile. As her eyes grew wider, her pupils narrowing, he felt more frustrated and powerless. He didn't even know where to shake his fist at whomever- or whatever- was sending one of his own in such a state. She seemed to look through him and began to scream. Loud and piercing. It drove an icy stake through his heart and jostled a memory free. He saw something like this happen between Undyne and Papyrus. He saw what snapped Papyrus out of it and hoped it would work for Alphys.

"I'm sorry," he shouted as he slapped her. If it would bring her back, he felt he could endure whatever backlash it might incur. She stopped, held a hand to her face, and looked at him with a layer of confusion added to her unseen burden. "You're here in my office," he stammered, trying to remember what Toriel would do when he woke up from a nightmare. "No one is here except you and me. I don't know what you think you saw, but it's just you and me. You're here. Right now. You're here."

"He's not here," she asked quietly as her pupils returned to normal.

"No one is in this room except us," he affirmed. "You're right here."

She rubbed her cheek, feeling embarrassed that it took more than just her rational mind to fight against the wave of memories and terror that swept over her. And in front of someone. Her face grew hot as she heard the echoes of her own scream in her mind. The scream that couldn't stay inside until she was alone.

"Well, it's time to get back," she said, quickly turning to leave.

"Alphys," Asgore called out. She stopped before her other foot hit the floor. "You don't have to go back to the lab. Not yet. Not if you want to stay with someone. I mean," he gave a nervous laugh, "maybe the march of science requires some breaks."

"I'll… I'll think about it," she said, trying to smile as she left the office.


	10. On a scale of 1 to Temmie

**Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading my story! I think the views means that y'all like something that I'm doing, but I would greatly appreciate a review so I can know which things you enjoy most in this story so I can incorporate it more, and even what you think holds the story back so I can grow as a writer.**  
 **I hope you enjoy this next part!**

 **www. alanwood demos/ wingdings. html**

* * *

Temmie bounced along the street, enjoying the first bit of sunny weather there had been all week. The town's council laughed at first when she and Greater Dog visited with a proposal to draft trade agreements between the humans and the monsters, but their laughter gave way to raised eyebrows and nodding when she gave the same presentation she used for her senior thesis in business management. When she proposed to see which local businesses were willing to take on such a high-risk venture of interspecies business partnership, they agreed to hear of whatever progress she had made by the end of the month. She smiled to herself. Monster or human, no one could last long against sound fiscal action and dog residue-heavy portfolios.

She walked up to a bakery window and stood up, resting her front paws on the building to see if this was a potential business partner or a potential lunch provider when she saw a misshapen face behind her. She gasped and turned around, only to see some humans across the street taking pictures of her with their phones. She preferred to get to know humans who took her pictures, but when she saw the face remaining visible in the window, she knew that this took higher priority.

"Wwho r you," she asked, keeping her eyes on the face. She couldn't figure out who this face reminded her of.

"0x54 0x68 0x65 0x79 ... 0x64 0x69 0x64 0x6E 0x92 0x74 ... 0x6C 0x69 0x73 0x74 0x65 0x6E ... 0x74 0x6F ... 0x6D 0x65. ... 0x54 0x68 0x65 0x79 ... 0x70 0x72 0x6F 0x74 0x65 0x63 0x74 0x65 0x64... 0x68 0x65 0x72. ... 0x49 ... 0x77 0x69 0x6C 0x6C ... 0x73 0x74 0x6F 0x70 ... 0x74 0x68 0x65 0x6D," he said.

"wwho r you talkigg bou'," she asked. She didn't like this impolite stranger.

"0x53 0x61 0x6E 0x73. ... 0x50 0x61 0x70 0x79 0x72 0x75 0x73. ... 0x46 0x72 0x69 0x73 0x6B," he answered.

"you r dreatening my friends," she said, wishing she didn't understand his intentions.

"0x79 ... 0x77 0x69 0x6C 0x6C ... 0x73 0x74 0x6F 0x70 ... 0x74 0x68 0x65 ... 0x64 0x61 0x6E 0x67 0x65 0x72 ... 0x74 0x6F ... 0x74 0x69 0x6D 0x65," he said in defense.

"You will regret this," she snarled. The face became smaller as if retreating. She barked once, and the face disappeared completely. She pushed herself off the wall and continued walking to see if another business might offer an opportunity, lunch, or both.


	11. What's Up, Doc?

**Author's note: Wow! I can't believe how many people have been reading my little ol' story! You're making me almost as excited as a Temmie! (Gimme some coffee and I'll at least be shaking as much.) I'd still love to hear what keeps y'all coming back to my story, or questions that you have that can help me advance the plot, so please leave a review! (^.^)**

* * *

After about twenty minutes, he slowed his speed and moved down the street at a more casual speed. He didn't want to have to kill her, but enemies of his were enemies of life itself. And it wasn't as if she were Papyrus or Sans: there might still be a way to convince them to work with him. He wove his way through the crowd, trying to decide if he should try to review his notes at the lab or try to speak with Sans. He couldn't remember the last time he was able to have a full conversation with Sans, partially because Sans was rarely seen without Frisk outside of school hours. He shuddered. Frisk. He didn't want to speak with her again if he could help it.

* * *

"papyrus was doing what," Sans asked as he squeezed jelly onto his toast.

"He had some weird trap set up outside of your bedroom window," Frisk answered, reaching over Sans' plate and opting for chocolate spread on her toast. To her it was worth the extra modicum of work than the squeeze-bottle.

"did it include one of those dogs?"

"No," she laughed, remembering another trap he set long ago, "there were no dogs. But he fell asleep, and even then he still looked tired. He kept muttering something about a face."

Sans' held the bottle, his hand seemed stuck between the toast and being set back on the table.

"Did I ever tell you about someone I met before the barrier was broken?"

"that's about as clear as mud. you met a lot of monsters. but if you meant the coolest, travel-sized jokester there ever was, i'm sure we both know who that is," he said, his stilted voice matching his shaking hand.

"He didn't say anything, but I wonder if he has anything to do with the... notes I found in the lab." Her voice tapered off when he moved closer to her. "What? You were the one who gave me the key to that lab."

"what did the notes say," Sans asked.

"No idea," she answered, backing away slightly in her chair. "They looked like a bunch of pictures, but it looked like it was just a language I don't know."

"this could be promising," he muttered, returning back to his previous position. "kid," he said in his normal tone, "crustmas is coming early this year!"

"What do you mean? And it's pronounced 'Christmas,'" she responded, adding the last comment softly.

* * *

Asgore set his elbows on his knees and rubbed his temples. He couldn't believe the email Temmie had just sent him. _A strange face threatening Sans, Papyrus and Frisk and making ramblings about time? And who was the "she" to whom he referred?_ The thoughts raced through his head and made victory laps around the only conclusion: somehow, Dr. Gaster had returned.


	12. Bonus Chapter: Translation

"NO"

"Why are you doing this?"

"You can't stop any of it"

"No, you can't"

"I'm the only one who can."

"They didn't listen to me. They protected her. I will stop them."

"Sans. Papyrus. Frisk."

"I will stop the danger to time."


	13. A Visit From Sans-ta Claus

**Author's Note: Sorry to sound like a broken record (sorrynotsorry) but wow! I'm so amazed at how many people have decided to keep up to date on what's happening to Frisk & Co. after the events of Undertale! Thank you very much. Please leave a review so I can know what it is about my story that makes you want to keep reading, or what you think might make this story even more engaging! (^.^) I hope you enjoy this next part, and Merry Christmas! (And a very Happy Holidays to everyone who cherishes this time of the year.)**

* * *

Frisk rolled her eyes as she sat on the floor, her back resting against the wall. Sans was so insistent on giving her an early Christmas gift that he made her wait outside of the lab. (Undyne wanted it to get Alphys on the surface more often.)The two-plus hours of work noises, frustration noises, and more than a few snack break noises made her suspect that he didn't think this through terribly well. She could hear distant bangs and pops coming from the cooking shed, accompanied by distant debris visible from the window.

"Are you okay," asked Toriel, her arms filled with various detergents to aide in her war against spaghetti sauce stains.

Frisk motioned to the lab door with her head. "Sans has been in there forever, but he said I have to wait until he's finished with my early Christmas gift."

"Is that right," Toriel asked with a smile. It delighted her to see others making an effort to show kindness to the child she so dearly loved, the child she found underground and tried to do everything to protect…

Her smile faltered as she saw light glistening off of something in Frisk's hand. Where did she get that knife? Was this child going to kill her again?

She closed her eyes tightly and opened them again. The light continued to glisten off the smartphone in Frisk's hand as she casually checked to see if Papyrus was able to post live updates of that day's culinary training like he said he would. Frisk didn't see how quickly Toriel's face dropped and bounced right back into her usual preoccupied smile.

"Well, I'm sure whatever he's making is something that he thinks will be absolutely wonderful for you," Toriel continued, gripping the detergent handle tightly as she tried to keep a lid on the foreign-yet-familiar questions that she had. Sans was often such a good listener, but she wasn't sure she could wait for a free moment with him. "He may be a bit slow, but he's smart. He'll finish your gift as soon as he can," she said, making her way to the laundry room. She began to mentally assess the pros and cons of seeking Asgore's counsel regarding that unexpected moment of fear. Despite everything that happened, he had more contacts than she did. And Alphys even told her that he was working on listening to others. Maybe he could shed some light on what was going on.

After another thirty minutes, Frisk heard Sans through the lab door.

"oh, look! there's a gift in my hand for a little girl named 'frisk'! but i can't deliver presents to kiddos unless they're asleep!"

Frisk narrowed her eyes, trying to hurl her confused look through the door. She couldn't believe what he said. But if this would get everything finished more quickly, she would play along. She scooted away from the door and laid on the floor, curled up as if asleep. He can't be serious, she thought, closing her until she could barely see the world around her.

He was absolutely serious.

"ho, ho, ho," he shouted, jumping into the room. The noise caused her to bolt upright. In place of Sans' usual blue hoodie and shorts was an extremely not-blue Santa suit. "carry mistmas, kiddo!" Frisk was too confused by the spectacle to even care about the mispronunciation. "me, 'my's elves' and i know you've been a real 'deer' this year. and i'm not just toying with you! ah, i 'sleigh' me. here!" Sans produced a gift from behind his back and handed it to Frisk.

"It's a headband," Frisk commented. She tried to smile, but was confused about how all that noise could produce such a normal thing.

"kiddos who aren't grateful tend to get coal," Sans said, narrowing his eyes at her. She still wasn't sure how he managed to do that without eyelids.

"No. I mean, thank you, but," she examined the plain hair accessory, "I didn't know that headbands took so much time and noise to make."

"because you've never seen a good one," Sans answered. He took the headband again and showed her a small system of buttons near the hem. "this button changes the color, this button changes the texture, and this button…" He paused and then shrugged. "maybe you should let papyrus test that one. i can't remember what it does." Frisk made a note to never simply brush her hair behind her ears while wearing her new gift: she didn't want to be the first to test that button, either.

"Thank you very much," she said, her gratitude more genuine as she saw how hard Sans must have worked on it.

"make sure to wear it every day!"

"Why," she asked, pressing through the identified buttons to find a color pattern she liked.

"because even though it's all finished, you might meet him again. and it'll be better if you can understand him with the built-in translator."

"'Him,'" Frisk repeated as a question.

"The one you met in that room. The former royal scientist, W.D. Gaster."


	14. 88 MPH

**Author's Note: Hey, guys! Sorry for the drop off in updates. My friend has been in town, and it has been so great to just relax! Hope you enjoy this next chapter as we bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. And I'm sorry for the extra-short chapter; I'm trying to get out of vacation-mode. ;)**  
 **As always, please leave a review! It's hard to write when I don't know if anyone is enjoying it, but it's very encouraging to hear that something I've made has added to someone's reading experience. (^.^)**

* * *

"I THOUGHT YOU SAID THIS WOULD FIX EVERYTHING," a young Papyrus whispered.

"I did," Gaster muttered, cradling Chara's lifeless body in his arms.

"you said that using the machine could get his ticker ticking again," said a not-as-young Sans, hands in his pockets.

"It was supposed to," Gaster cried as he held the human's head, his fingers entwined around the child's hair. Having something to hold on to after death did surprisingly little to dull the pain. He gambled everything and lost. Asgore had come to him, begging his help to heal the child, and he had failed. He had tried to stop Toriel from leaving the castle, hoping that listening to her worries about Asgore's hatred towards humans after Chara's death would help her to stay, and failed. Later, he heard her cries for her children. The children who died because of the humans. He knew that he couldn't let another war erupt. His great-grandfather had served as an aide and barely escaped without becoming ash. The stories he had been told as a young skeleton grew louder and louder as he saw the effort that was being made to the Underground's army. And that was before there was a reason to try to launch an attack on the humans. He apologized again and again as he opened Chara's casket and unwrapped the bandages which gave anonymity and dignity to his vacant mortal shell.

It didn't hurt much as the four of them jumped into the machine with nothing left to lose. So much research was attempted in regards to the human soul, but the only verifiable conclusion was that it was a mysterious object which seemed unbound by the laws which governed monsters. Perhaps a human soul, perhaps the determination which drove it, perhaps even death could not deter it in the right circumstances. And what is death but the end of a time?

Gaster had tried to shield the two young skeletons and the dead human child, but it ended up being more painful than he expected. He had hoped that the two cries coming from little Papyrus and little Sans were more of fear than the same pain which wracked his body. They were both hurled backwards across the years and possibly up and to the left as they landed in a blinding light and something quite soft. Joy within him had burned hotter than the heat on his bones as he hushed the other two and tried to listen for a sign of life. For some hope as impossible as their sitting on grass under a blue sky.

But there was nothing.


	15. Wibbly-Wobbly Timey-Wimey

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I hope you all have had a great New Year's and a wonderful holiday season! At least in my home country the weather seems to be a bit crazy lately, so please stay safe!**

 **Thank you to everyone who has left reviews on this story. It's very encouraging to read what you think about this and to see different ways I can improve things. So please leave a review!**

 **Also, thanks to imnotraven16 for noticing a crucial typo in the first sentence! (Chara, NOT FRISK!) Thanks!**

* * *

After the three of them buried Chara as best they could (having gathered plenty of golden flowers of various types to adorn the hastily-made grave,) Gaster had to explain their only option.

"We must go back. We must try another way to save everyone without bringing the wrath of the humans upon us. If we stay here, they won't understand. They will think we're spies."

Even before he finished, Sans and Papyrus were nodding. Gaster couldn't be more proud of Sans and Papyrus. They knew how important it was to protect the other monsters! He led them to the cave entrance on Mt. Ebbot, having recognized the area from old war reports. Unsure of if this area was still under watch after all those years, he frequently found boulders and other large objects to act as cover for the two young ones while he went ahead to check for guards or signs of ambush. Thought the chances of wandering monsters was practically impossible, humans were so notoriously ruthless that he wouldn't have been surprised if they were waging war on the trees themselves. After surveying the land ahead for about twenty minutes, he carefully returned to the heading place he left those two brave boys.

"i don't think we can see the stars, bro." He stopped, having recognized Sans' voice. Every word sounded like a struggle for him to say. "doctor gaster sounded like we have to run now."

"BUT I HAVE DREAMED OF SEEING THEM FOR SO LONG, BROTHER," Papyrus objected, his voice quivering. Gaster ran up to the two of them: the quicker they were back in the Underground, the quicker they could forget the beautiful taunting of life on the Surface.

"Okay, I found a good path. It looks like the humans aren't guarding this place like in the old days. We're not too far." Turning about, he began to jog. The three of them must forget the surface world. "Papyrus, do you read the newspaper?"

"NO," he answered. "I AM PROTESTING THE JUNIOR JUMBLE! THE AVERAGE MONSTER CANNOT STAND A CHANCE AGAINST SUCH INTENSE MENTAL CALISTHENICS!"

"So the Great Papyrus won't try the horoscope," Gaster asked.

For a minute, the only sounds were their footsteps and Papyrus' stammering. "YOU THINK I'M GREAT?"

"Of course," he answered, risking a glance backwards as he brought up their pace to a run. Papyrus was giving one of his classic temple-to-temple smiles. "So because you're the Great Papyrus, I thought that something which talks about stars might be too easy for-"

"STARS?" Papyrus gasped. "WELL, PERHAPS I- THE GREAT AND MARVELOUS AND CLEVER PAPYRUS COULD SEE IF THAT IS A STRONG ENOUGH MENTAL CHALLENGER FOR SOMEONE OF MY CALIBER!"

"you seem more like lieutenant logorrhea," Sans chimed in.

"A LIEUTENANT?" Papyrus squealed, ignoring the last word which he had never heard of. Gaster smiled and clenched his jaw to force down his own disappointment in leaving the surface world behind. Sans sounded unusually lethargic in his voice, but if the two of them were laughing and joking together, then maybe something could be salvaged. And if they worked together, the two of them could see the surface again and bring him a souvenir if he would still be alive then. After another thirty minutes, they found their way to the ruins. He made a mental note to check the specifications on the time machine in his lab, as it didn't send him back in time as far as he had expected.

* * *

"Where is my child," Toriel screamed again and again. Her cries echoed fairly easily off the rocks, but most of the monsters tried to pretend not to notice.

"Poor Toriel," some said.

"Is it okay to hug her? She is the queen," others wondered. The pain and confusion was still so fresh for the whole kingdom after Asriel and the human child passed away, but the most daring ones could only venture a sad shake of the head when she locked eyes with them. Any death was painful, but there was always someone far removed enough to be a strong supporter and care for those grieving. No one knew what to do when their kingdom ached as one.

As Gaster, Sans and Papyrus finally arrived at the market near the castle, he felt disoriented. He looked and saw Toriel carrying several bags. Something seemed off.

"I cannot stay here," she called out, storming straight at Gaster. Or the exit of the market area. He couldn't tell which. She came closer, begging him to tell her where Chara was. She repeated how terrified she was of the war Asgore might begin due to his terrible notion of gaining seven human souls to attack the surface. The fur on her face matted with tears. But one thing she said made him sure that something was wrong.

"I told you that I would leave for the ruins after I found a place to sleep," she said when she knew that he wouldn't give her the information she so badly needed. "Your intern Alphys let me stay with her, so now I'm leaving. You didn't stop me last night, and you won't stop me now."

She gave a shout and swung her arm at him, but couldn't bring herself to do more damage than an accidental push. He stepped aside and stared at her retreating form before quickly fumbling for his phone. He looked at the digital date display and whispered, "We didn't speak last night. We spoke an hour from now."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY," Papyrus asked.

"I said 'we need to get to the laboratory,'" Gaster replied. He tried to think of ways to determine what all changed after his attempt to bring back to life the future between humans and monsters.


	16. The Dancer

Author's Note: Hello, everyone! I hope you're doing well. First off: Thanks to some eagle-eyed readers, I have edited a crucial typo in the previous chapter. The first sentence was referring to Chara, not Frisk. And on that note (heh) please leave reviews with how you enjoyed this story thus far, ways you think I could improve, or REALLY confusing typos like that one! Every bit helps keep this story moving forward. :)

Also, I want to give a bit of a head's up for the violence in this chapter. I doubt I'll make it a regular thing, but just wanted to mention it here in the notes for those who don't like violence.

I've also noticed that it seems like some new folks have found my little story. Hi! *waves* I hope that y'all- those who have just found this story, those who have read since chapter 1, or came along somewhere inbetween- enjoy this chapter!

* * *

A few days later, Gaster finished calibrating the time machine with vials of determination, and let out a frustrated groan. Where were those two? They were supposed to be back from Waterfall more than an hour ago. He took a rag to clean the grease from his fingers and threw in on the desk in frustration. He donned his black lab coat and headed for the river. As the boat driver took him to Waterfall, he rehearsed over half a dozen lectures on the importance of keeping to a schedule and keeping their phones charged so they could be contacted in case of an emergency. Alphys had the day off due to illness, but if she faked it to spend time with Sans and Papyrus at the dump… He rubbed his skull from the tension headache but stopped when he felt a line. He rubbed it, thinking it was some stringy plant or scrap from the lab that was stuck to his face, but it had depth.

"Since when did I start getting a crack there," he whispered. He was sure that if he had hair, the stress from those three would cause it to change colors.

"Be sure to catch my concert," the boat driver said as Gaster disembarked onto land.

"I'll see if I can," he replied, giving an affectionate pat to the bow of the boat. He liked being able to ride the boat when it became a dog. In the distance, he thought he could hear a terrible commotion. The noise was so muffled that he had a difficult time discerning what the source was, but something told him to run.

But it was too late.

He ran around the corner to see Alphys, pale and fidgeting with a container, a large, glass cylinder with a keypad on the side, that he vaguely recognized. A human in a tutu stood between he and Alphys, one pointed foot planted in Sans' right eye socket. And nearby, a belt Gaster had given Papyrus.

"Why did Papyrus leave his belt in a pile of ash," Gaster asked, his stupor melting into a nightmare.

"I, er, um," shouted Alphys, hyperventilating, "I will stop you, hu-"

"Really? You," the human asked with a smile. "I honestly didn't want to kill anyone except that stupid Asgore. But if a weak monster like yourself tries to stop me before that, I will end you."

"No one can kill King Asgore," she shouted, his voice becoming stronger as she was finally able to open the container and began to press numbers on the keypad.

"Asgore is the king," the human asked before balancing all their weight on the foot which rested in Sans' skull. "I forgot about that," they added as Sans' body collapsed into a pile of dust. "But thanks for helping me remember. I think I'll stick to something a little more sure than buttercups this time around."

Gaster wasn't sure what happened first, but he was soon staring at the human laying on the ground, every major limb and joint contorted in the most unusual fashion. It was almost like a picture of someone in the middle of a bizarre ballet, red liquid pouring like profuse sweat. _How did that happen_ , he wondered. He lifted up his hands and saw them covered in blood. "It must have been me," he answered aloud. He didn't remember doing anything to the human who took those two boys from him, but another memory came in its place. He looked over at a crying Alphys, clutching the large cylinder. Despite her nervous tendencies which sometimes impeded her work, her quick mind was what won her the position of his apprentice in the first place. Now, it was time for him to think quickly as well.

"The boys and I have a little secret," he said, stomping on the human's chest to make the ribs easier to pry apart. "We took a trip a few days ago," he explained, maneuvering the chest cavity open to reveal a glowing blue soul. "We must go on a trip again, but we will be back. Until then, inform Asgore that you found a human who crashed upon the rocks of the waterfall. I wish he wouldn't have to absorb such a vile soul, but maybe our salvation is at hand." He gently tossed the heart-shaped glow to Alphys, where she caught it in the jar as it slowly floated downwards, small drops of blood tapping on the inside of the container.

"If you remember this night," he said, quickly scooping up the remains of Sans and Papyrus and putting them in separate pockets of his lab coat. "I ask that you trust me no matter the fantastic things I might divulge to you."

Before she could answer, he ran to the time machine. Something was badly wrong. He didn't care if this attempt would kill him as long as there was a chance to bring those two boys back. And if he did survive, he would work to find out why that human both did and did not bear a striking similarity to Chara.


	17. Wrinkle in Time, Fly in the Ointment

**Author's Note: Hello! I hope you're doing well. There seems to be a bothersome glitch with reviews on this site where they seem to hide under a rock when I try to reply. So please continue to leave reviews, and know that I really do read them. Thank you for your encouragement, and I hope that you enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Instead of landing outside, the machine set the final coordinates to another part of the underground, though Gaster did not yet care to see if time had remained the same. He sat on the ground, panting from the physically exhausting strain of the time machine, clutching Papyrus and Sans to his chest as he rocked them back and forth near a glowing fungus. He knew his bloodied hands were not helping much to calm them down from the realization of their temporary death, but he continued to hold them until that same terror finally began to release its grasp on him.

"I'm so 0x67 0x6C 0x61 0x64 that you're okay," he said once he managed to catch his breath. He cleared his throat, wondering what was happening to his voice.

"you're so what," Sans asked. Papyrus, though also confused, still had his face buried in the crook of Gaster's elbow.

"I said 'I'm so glad that 0x79 0x6F 0x75 0x92 0x72 0x65 okay,'" he repeated before clearing his throat again.

"why do you sound so funny? you didn't even tell any jokes," Sans said. Gaster forced a smile. Even if Papyrus had a hard time dealing with the scary things in life, he knew that Sans was able to be strong enough for the both of them. Especially when armed with a pun or two.

His phone buzzed in his pocket repeatedly as a series of chimes alerted him to unread text messages. He took his phone out of his pocket and saw several missed calls in addition to the messages, all of them from Alphys.

\- Are you back yet? Some rumors are going around that a human was seen near the Core. I hope it's not true, because I can't handle another one.

\- You're making me worried. I told the King that you were in the middle of important research. Maybe it's true. Please come back soon.

\- Where are you? Everyone said they haven't seen you in days. One monster said he got a picture of the human, and… they're tall with red hair, so why does that human remind me of Chara?

\- OMGZ I FOUND THE CUTEST CAT VIDEO! I emailed it to your computer because you still won't give up your flip-phone! X-p ;-D :)

Please be safe.

\- Undyne said she found the red-headed human. I hope you don't mind that I took another jar from the lab. You need to change the door code.

\- The king has a second human soul, now. The humans are so scary that I begged the King to hold off until he had at least three souls. If one human soul wasn't enough to protect Asriel, then one won't be enough for the King, either.

Another chime sounded as another message followed.

\- Maybe a few more than three. I talked to an expert(?) so I'm going to advise the King to hold off on invading the surface until more are acquired.

Gaster looked up and was surprised to see that Alphys was, in fact, within sight. He could just make out her form next to a soft yellow light in a jar, crouched over a smaller shape that was too blurry to see. Perhaps an extremely short echo flower.

"That must be the new soul 0x69 0x6E that jar," he thought out loud. "But what advice can 0x61 0x6E echo flower-" He gasped as he watched the flower disappear into the ground. "Flowey," he exclaimed, unsure how he knew that name.

"WHO'S FLOWEY," Papyrus asked, his breathing punctuated by occasional shuddering sighs rather than sobs at this point. "THAT SOUNDS LIKE A NICE NAME."

"I have some work to do," Gaster said, easing the two onto their feet before standing up. "Go to Snowdin and see if they have any Nice Cream. I'll find you later." He put his hands on the boys' shoulders, one hand for every two shoulders. "Don't tell anyone about this until I have more data. Knowledge is power against fear, so we shouldn't tell them the confusing things until we can give them power to understand it, okay?"

Sans gave a quick nod and pulled Papyrus along. Gaster wished there was more time, that he could ask Sans why he looked different than the last time they went through the time machine. But he ran to the lab. There was work to be done.

It wasn't over yet.

* * *

Gaster had no problem disconnecting the TV service from their home in Snowdin, but he was surprised at the fact that Sans suggested it.

"papyrus doesn't remember any of it," Sans explained one day while he helped organize tools in the lab. "but when that robot, mastodon-"

"0x4D 0x65 0x74 0x74 0x61 0x74 0x6F 0x63," Gaster corrected.

"right, mettaton, that robot dr. alphys made. so when mettaton would start talking about the humans, like that one that died in the ruins last month, it turned a good time bad real quick. maybe if we can distract him, he can forget about those humans." Gaster nodded in agreement and directed his attention to the parts inventory list. "and the stars," Sans added, his eye giving a quick flash of blue.


	18. Fin-ishing Move: FRIENDSHIP!

**Author's Note: It looks like that review bug has been fixed! It was so annoying not being able to find them even though the numbers said they were there. Please be sure to leave a review with your thoughts about this story!**

* * *

Sans was having a bit of a hard time making Papyrus forget about those other humans. He wished that everyone could forget about Chara, but he didn't want Papyrus to have the same nightmares he had. While he walked around, trying to get ideas, he saw Undyne performing solo drills with some of her spears. He walked toward her.

"hey," he said in a loud voice while he was still some yards away from her. She was nice enough, but he didn't want to be the first to find out what happens to a monster when they startle her while she's spinning extremely sharp weapons.

"What did you say," she shouted. Leaping the distance to land just inches from Sans' face, she asked with fierce passion, "Did you say there's another human? Some intruder threatening us all with certain doom? _**I'm sure I can use my ban-kai on them**_!"

"no. what? no. i just said 'hey.' i was out taking a walk." He paused, trying to think of an alternative to the unadulterated truth. "i'm worried about papyrus but maybe all he needs is something else besides the lab to occupy his time. but i'm not-" he gave a shout as he recovered his footing from almost slipping something. Looking down, it was an old apron. "where did you get this?"

"That human," she answered, looking prideful. "Though they were an intruder who could not be allowed to live, I remember not the last time I've had a battle with someone who was so brave, someone who did not run away from a single attack. I didn't realize the apron fell, but I keep these as tokens to remind myself to fight bravely even unto death."

Undyne's eyes went wide and she suppressed the urge to make sure she wasn't a pile of dust. This went unnoticed by Sans, who now had an idea.

"maybe papyrus can become a fighter like that if he joins the royal guard," he said.

"Fuhuhuhu," she laughed. "Papyrus? In the Royal Guard? He isn't enough of a warrior!"

She was reacting just as well as Sans had planned.

"don't be _koi_ with me," he said. "you like my brother!"

" **What** ," she screamed, causing a blue spear to materialize in one hand as she used the other to grab him by the shirt. " **Don't you dare spread those lies that I love him**!"

"you've _cod_ to be kidding me," he quickly explained. She was responding a little too well to the bait. "i never said 'love.' i said 'like.' you act all tough, but you want to be friends with him, don't you?"

"Of course not," she said, pushing him as she let go of his shirt with an almost imperceptible smile. "Soldiers only have time for fighting and training, not friends." The smile dropped before it could become more than a suspiciously-timed muscle twitch.

"then train papyrus."

"I told you, he can't be in the Royal Guard."

"the royal guard isn't the only reason or way to train someone. there's more than one way to skin a cat."

* * *

"I don't like Sans," Catty said to her friend, Bratty, as they dug through the trash.

"Why do you say that?"

Catty shrugged and the two proceeded to dig through different heaps in the dump for more Mettaton posters to add to their collections.

* * *

"Then how do you suppose I train him," asked Undyne.

"well, he mentioned that he wants to learn how to cook."

She stared at him. "He _wants_ to _learn_ to _cook_ ," she said, the rhythm of her statement akin to a beating heart, minus the certainty. She started to smile. "Cook." She put her face in her hand, trying to hide the growing smile. " **Cook**?" She threw her head back, abandoning all attempts at maturity and let out a heart laugh, her numerous razor-sharp teeth glistening in the light. She gave Sans a pat on the back that nearly relocated his vertebrae to his sternum and said, "I think that would be wonderful training for someone like Papyrus! What can he cook so far?"

"uh…"

"Does he know how to cook hamburgers?"

"well," Sans said, reaching to see if her enthusiasm had indeed blasted a hole right through him, "that meal would be brought to you by the letter 'e' and the word 'coli.'"

"What if he tries to cook chicken?"

"i think we'd all be _clucked_."

"Can he even boil water?"

After a thoughtful pause, Sans answered, "there's a first time for everything."

"Never mind," she said, her amusement at the situation long gone as she began to walk away.

"oh, so you can't step up to the challenge?"

Before her other foot hit the ground, she spun on her heel and suplexed Sans. " **We'll start with spaghetti** ," she said as she dusted herself off and walked away. "Send him to my house in two days after I've gathered the ingredients."

"on it like an omelette," Sans wheezed.


	19. Let's Do the Timewarp Again

**Author's Note: Hello, all! Hope you're doing well and getting through this winter. WARNING: I didn't expect to put violent language in another chapter, but some characters just can't be reasoned with.**  
 **Please don't forget to leave a review!**

* * *

Frisk walked down the dimly-lit street that led home, one hand swinging a grocery bag containing mushrooms, Parmesan cheese, frozen breadsticks, and candy bars, at her side, the other hand lifted to block the glare of street lamps and passing cars. After weeks of pestering by Papyrus, Toriel finally broke down and gave Frisk money to go shopping for mushrooms that didn't come from the Underground. After a quick internet search to find which mushrooms don't grow in caves, she grabbed two small boxes of portobello mushrooms, one for Papyrus and one for something edible. She hoped that three boxes of breadsticks would be enough to either make everyone too full to eat the meal, or to help keep the nausea at bay. She walked closer to a street lamp to make sure that the boxes of breadsticks hadn't torn the flimsy plastic.

"Maybe I need to get one of those recyclable bags," she muttered. "The last thing I need is to spill groceries everywhere."

"Your groceries won't be the only things spilled everywhere when I'm through with you," a voice said above her.

She froze, chuckling nervously at her situation. _I'm gonna die. I'm gonna die with a bag of breadsticks. I survived a world of monsters, and this is how I'll go; the victim of a frickin' B-movie BS cliche of the bad guy floating above me! Don't look up. Don't look up._ She looked up and saw a dark figure dangling from the light post, a silhouette with two empty eyes set in a white boney face hovering inches in front of hers. "Why did I look up," she screamed, jumping back. "Who are you?"

"You never remember," he said, grabbing the street lamp with one hand, jumping down feet first and towering over her. "And I find that quite rude."

"Well, threatening disembowelment isn't exactly the most polite thing someone can do, either," she replied, her voice shaking. _WHAT ARE YOU DOING_ , she thought in all-caps. _THIS ISN'T THE TIME FOR WITTY BANTER JUST RUN!_

He held her face with his bones fingers pressed on her cheeks, turning her head as if in examination, tilting his own head in apparent curiosity. The light caught more of his face, casting a long, slender shadow across it. No, not entirely a shadow. Frisk focused her eyes and saw that the shadow was exaggerated due to a long crack along his face.

"Again," she asked, whispering.

"So the human finally remembers Dr. Gaster at long last," he chuckled, sliding his fingers towards himself until her mouth resembled a fish's mouth. "Trying to clean up time is like killing a stupid spider. You stomp and stomp only to find more." He put his other hand on the back of her neck and she breathed in quickly and deeply, like a silent scream in reverse. "Oh, how many times have I snapped that little neck of yours," he wondered aloud, feeling her cervical vertebrae through the skin. Thoughts gushed through her head as bile threatened to follow suit.

 _WHO IS THIS GUY? Is he the same one I saw in that room? WHY IS HE SO CREEPY AND TERRIFYING? Why would Sans wants me to understand such a freak? … It was three times. Don't think about it right now or he'll make it four. Just get away._

Her eyes went wide and she wriggled away from his hand until her mouth was free. She screamed as loud as she could until she thought her throat might tear, "Somebody, help! Sans, Undyne, Papyrus! Somebody!"

But nobody came.


	20. The Footage

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Thank you very much for the reviews! It's very encouraging to know that my story is being enjoyed rather than simply clicked. Please leave a review so I can continue to write...**

 ** _WITH DETERMINATION!_** ***pose***

* * *

Alphys, armed with instant noodles and her fluffy slippers, leaned back in her chair to check the security footage for clues about how to repair the time machine. She tried to ignore it, tried to conduct test and after test, anything that might give her a clue and protect her from those videos. From watching whatever had left the lab, and her, in its disheveled state every time Dr. Gaster appeared. She had preferred to pretend that none of those times ever happened, or that it was the attempt of someone to steal science to sell on the black market. But she had promised those she cared for that she would stop lying about frightening things.

As she watched the screen of the most recent intrusion, she was mostly unaware that she had her _Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie_ plush doll in one hand as she quickly twirled the hair around her index claw. Gazing at the her which worked so obliviously, she repeatedly whispered, "For science," over and over again, to keep the fear at bay. Both as she inhaled and exhaled. The noise became like a soft wind, ceasing to be words or a source of comfort. She even forgot that her mouth was still moving. Because something else on the screen was now moving.

Remembering her cuddly protector, she had raised the doll to her face as her video self jumped up from the console, turning around and facing Dr. Gaster. She had been unable to find a high-quality microphone that wouldn't give feedback when hidden, so she strained to hear the muted sounds coming from the footage.

Video-Alphys seemed just as scared as she was and began to plead with Dr. Gaster to let her finish the work. Dr. Gaster's voice gave her a cold chill which caused her to yawn. He was threatening her, berating her, demanding that she stop and leave the laboratory. She wasn't sure what happened to the mostly-kind Dr. Gaster, but the changes began when Sans confided in her about their time-travels. The insults about her shape, guilting her into staying at the lab longer, even giving her a birthday present with a card which said "I saw this and I thought of you": a trash can.

A thump from the video had jolted her out of her memories, and her eyes grew wide. Video-Alphys had slammed her hand on the console and stood up, facing Dr. Gaster, and spoke eight words which made non-Video-Alphys' lip quiver and her eyes brim with so much hope that it hurt.

" ** _Is that how you address the royal scientist_** _ **?**_ "

She stared at the screen, dumbfounded, as Video-Alphys sat down at the console again, trying to ignore Dr. Gaster. After he said something about being the only one to stop everything, he charged at her. In both fear and joy, she watched as Video-Alphys stood up again, spinning around while wielding her trash can. He stumbled back, rubbing the point of impact on his face and laughing about how the attack was complete garbage. She let out a scream and attacked, her claws aimed for any part of him that wasn't fast enough to escape. He put a hand to the machine and tore off a metal panel with a disturbing level of ease just in time to catch Alphy's claws from slicing his face. She pulled her hand away, crying out in pain, just before he brought the shield down on her head and sent her sinking to the floor. Her shock at watching the last blow of the fight had been replaced with confusion when she heard him wonder aloud if he could somehow finish his time machine before she finished repairing this one. His time machine. She was glad that his habit of thinking out loud didn't change after everything.

With newfound courage, she went through the tapes from newest to oldest and saw a story in reverse. A royal scientist who used to know less and less, more and more unsure of things, more and more willing to compromise who she was to please others, until she got to the first video where she was the least sure, the least confident, and the most familiar to herself. Going through the videos again, taking still shots and segments of video where Dr. Gaster sabotaged the machine in a suspiciously precise manner, she saw a royal scientist who had become stronger. Happier. And less patient with a hateful creature who kept trying to drag her back to where her friends called her out of. Watching the recent fight for a third time, she laughed and hoped that she could be like Video-Alphys a little more often.

She worked fervently at repairing the machine, glancing at her computer on occasion at a compilation of screenshots she had assembled from the security video footage. "Up, switch, up, turn, switch, switch, up," she muttered, "so…" She turned her attention to the component in question, inverting the movements she saw Dr. Gaster perform in the video. Making notes based on the large or small amounts of damage inflicted on the machine each time, she began to reverse-engineer the time machine.


	21. Nobody Came

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! If you didn't see it, I posted a one-shot ("Frisk's Monologue") which is likely the most canon fanfic I will ever write. Some folks have left reviews saying they enjoyed it, so I hope you will, too!**  
 **And speaking of reviews, I just want to thank everyone who posted a review recently. Every encouragement fills me with DETERMINATION! and I try to take every critique and incorporate it to become a better writer. Please continue to leave reviews, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**

* * *

"Nobody came," Gaster chuckled, his skull resting against Frisk's forehead. "Now why would that be? Maybe it's because of what Sans called you that night. What was it again?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Frisk pleaded as Gaster's visage filled her vision. She didn't know what these terrible images in her head meant, why she kept seeing things that conflicted with reality, but they were like rats gnawing at the only strength she had left. It had been easier to keep them locked up deep inside when she was younger. When she met everyone, it was difficult but still manageable to make up lies about her nightmares. But Gaster didn't just have the key to unlock them: he was ripping apart the padlock.

"Give up," he scoffed. "Alphys saw it. She told me." Frisk lost all strength, her body going limp in his grip around her jaw and head as breathing became more difficult. _Did it all really happen_ , she wondered as the tears poured down. _Did I really do all of it?_ "What are you," Gaster whispered.

"I'm a dirty brother-killer," Frisk screamed, her howling cries echoing in the night.

"but you took a shower this morning," a voice said.

Gaster turned quickly at the quip. He saw no body standing there, with two large skulls at either side, each disembodied beast resembling a dragon. He couldn't help but smile. Sans must have put such hard work into engineering those spectacular creatures. No wonder he had taken so long to kill Frisk; such mastery can't be rushed.

"Dear Sans," Gaster called out. "Great minds thinks alike! I'm sorry that I almost destroyed this murderer before talking to you. I just got ahead of myself."

Black spots swam in Frisk's vision, blocking what little light there was. A primal desperation for air brought extra energy into her limbs as she pulled up on Gaster's arm to catch her breath, but she wasn't sure if a few extra minutes of life were worth it: her secret was revealed, and a glance to her side showed a Sans with those same murderous eyes, shining four-fold with the two creatures at his side. All burning with hatred at the streetlight where the brother-killer was trapped.

"frisk," Sans called out harshly, "why did you do it?"

"I don't know," she answered loudly, coughing from the pressure on her throat. "I just know that I did it. Papyrus is-" she mustered up the strength to give Sans the truth he deserved before receiving the death she deserved at his hand. "I killed Papyrus."

"and all those times we spent together. going to grillby's. laughing at those movies. were those all lies?"

"No," she said.

"Of course they were," Gaster screamed. "Let us avenge Papyrus and bring order to time," Gaster cackled, high-pitched and manic. Frisk's eyes went wide at the live soundtrack of her nightmares.

"I knew you would say that, kid," said Sans. "and don't get your bones in a bunch; i can take care of this myself. get out of the way." The companions at his side began to emit a deep hum, the tone increasing moore and more quickly.

"If you insist," Gaster said, searching for a way to secure Frisk to the pole to give Sans a clean shot. A bone flew through the air, chipping his cheek.

"i wasn't talking to you," Sans sneered. Turning his head behind him, he called out, "what the _carp_ , undyne? 'get out of the way' was your cue! frisk has been hanging around for too long."

"Not everyone knows your stupid shortcuts," Undyne called out, gasping for breath. She jogged up and then stood beside one of the beasts, her weight supported by her hands on her thighs, the gasps for breath audible.

"Him," she asked, pointing.

"gaster," Sans answered.

"Huh. He looks different. What is he hold-" She stood up straight, her eyes wide and teeth bared in aggression, and took a deep breath. " ** _You let go of my bestie_** ," she screamed, running at him with renewed vigor.

"mercy," Sans said in a sing-song voice.

"Fine," Undyne scoffed. She stopped in between Frisk and Gaster, pushing away the arm that was at the front of Frisk's neck while twisting his wrist until she heard a crunch. As he cried out in pain and instinctively let go, Undyne caught Frisk and ran into the night.

"Mercy," Frisk coughed, questioningly. Undyne glanced over her shoulder as those two creatures Sans showed her began to rise higher into the air.

"I _was_ showing mercy," she corrected. "But Sans won't."

"How dare you betray me," Gaster hissed, his hand glowing red as he tried to mend his bones.

"you have to care about someone to betray them," Sans replied. "if you were still the same old doc i knew, i would feel bad about this. but you destroyed him." The high-pitched whine from his companions indicated that it was time. Affectionately rubbing one behind the ear, he said, "i've been working on these fellas for a while. ever since you chased paps and i into the machine, i knew i would need to take you out. do you know what i call them?"

"Let me guess," Gaster snarled at his former assistant. "'Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Doom'? 'Thunder and Lightning'? Or 'I Make A Million Stupid Jokes And Help Humans Destroy Time'?"

"nah. they're the gaster blasters."

The street lit up nearly as bright as a cloudless day.


	22. In-Sans-ity

**Author's Note: Hello, everyone! Well, it looks like Gaster's story is reaching its end(?)**  
 **Thank you to all who have taken the time to leave a review. They have been very helpful in both giving me encouragement to continue writing as well as tips on how to make this story better. :)**  
 **I hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Gaster scurried up the light post like a large cockroach, leaping from it to a taller tree before the brunt of the blast could touch him.

"Very well," he called out. "If that's the way it must be!"

Like any other monster, Gaster already had magical abilities before he was repeatedly exposed to the effects of the time machine. But the attack which used to send out a barrage of bones instead shot out the sleeve of his black lab coat several times longer and with more dexterity than it usually had. The writhing black tendril cut a path of darkness through the air, missing Sans by mere moments.

"missed it by the skin of my teeth," Sans commented as he raised his hand for his next move. Gaster laughed, even as his chest pulled his body along like a rag doll in every direction and through every branch of the tree.

"Who do you think taught you that move," Gaster asked, lifting his own hand and causing Sans to rise into the air much more quickly. Sans brought his hand up so quickly to bring Gaster to his height that it nearly flew off on its own. After a few seconds in complete darkness, he was able to see that they had broken through the clouds.

"i bet alphys wishes she could record this," he muttered.

* * *

Alphys sneezed, causing her thumb to hit the wrong button on her phone. She wiped her nose with her sleeve and tried again to open the text from Undyne.

" ** _Now_** ," the message said.

"Oh of course," Alphys shouted with glee. "I can't believe that Undyne was able to get a copy of Mew Mew: Kissy Cutie's AU OVA, 'Moo Moo: Milky Mooey'! I don't even have time to text back! I have to leave my laboratory unlocked! Right now! And stay away! For at least a few hours! Oooh-hooo!"

With a performance for possible listening ears that would have gotten booed out of an amusement park stage show, Alphys took a bag containing electronic copies of her most crucial research and set out for Toriel's house per Sans' previous instructions.

* * *

"so you want to destroy all of this," Sans asked, waving his other hand around both as an indicator to the clouds and mountains which were well below their feet, as well as a cue for the Gaster Blasters to fall into position. "everything that every monster in the underground ever dreamed of?"

"That's what that murderous human wants to do," Gaster screamed. "I am the rescuer! I am the hero!"

"you're a looney," Sans muttered.

"Does a lunatic get expect advice from a flower to kill invaders?"

"usually," he answered aloud, shrugging at how anyone could ask such a question so seriously. _I guess Flowey helped him keep track of the repeating human,_ he thought.

"It's a shame about that last trip we took," Gaster laughed.

"what do you mean," Sans asked. He remembered the day he and Papyrus almost escaped, but he needed more time.

* * *

"Well," Gaster continued, his voice as cold as the thin air around them, "I figured that removing the sniveling variable of that stupid scared-by-a-wall Papyrus would make you see what happens to anyone who lets that human near. Pity that he survived."

The ketchup in Sans' stomach boiled with rage. The explosion from outside of town was music to his ears: Undyne and Papyrus were cooking dinner for Alphys at their house, meaning she was safely away from the lab. But why end things there? Sans' eye shone with a brilliant blue as the Gaster Blasters' hum reached just the proper pitch.

"Time for dinner, mother- **_*Author's Note: T-RATING, SANS!*_** "

The blasts shot out again, unfettered by any fear of endangering nearby humans. But Sans wasn't the only one who heard the attack. Almost immediately, Gaster's black tendrils shout out in all directions. A few used the Gaster Blasters as a platform to push himself away, and two more wrapped around Sans in a suffocating embrace.

"Hope you're hungry," Gaster whispered. "'Cause I'm about to open a whole box of whoop- ** _*Author's Note: NOT YOU, TOO?!*_** "

 _man, that was good_ , Sans thought as they both plummeted towards the earth.


	23. What Goes Around

**Author's Note: So, this is the end! I'm blown away by the surf port I've recieved for my first fan fiction, and hope that I can continue to make stories that explore fictional world's I love as well as serve as a fitting use for your time. :)**

 **(The very very end is explained in the Author's Notes "chapter" after this actual chapter.)**

* * *

The wind roared past, drowning out all other sounds, save a clever pun or two.

"let's turn this around, shall we," Sans screamed, turning Gaster to serve as a cushion for the sudden stop. "i guess the underdog is back on top!"

"What," Gaster asked.

Ahem. The wind roared past, drowning out all other sounds, save a _**clever**_ pun or two.

Sans leaned the top of his head into Gaster's chest, hoping gravity would help him crack this crackpot like a coconut.

"the real gaster's gone. the real gaster's gone." Sans repeated this over and over, unsure if he was thinking it, screaming it, or both.

He awoke himself moments later, the pain in every bone of his body forcing his mouth open while taking away any strength to make a noise. At his silent scream, the Gaster Blasters drew near to give whatever help they could. Gaster was nowhere to be found.

* * *

"I think this is a real monster," a young voice whispered. "My sister said that all monsters are bad. So she keeps telling me to practice using my toy sword."

"I've never seen a monster up-close," another one chimed in. "I heard that some are actually friendly. Maybe if we help him get better, he'll be friendly, too!"

Gaster gave a moan as his vision began to return to him. The talking blurs hovering above him sharpened into two short forms of evil embodied: human children.

He leapt to his feet, almost falling again. He gritted his teeth, mentally cursing Sans for making his escape slower and more painful than it needed to be.

"Why did the machine bring me here," he whispered with fearful hatred. Looking more closely at the children- one rightfully cowering away and one foolishly standing tall- he saw that the foolish one was the spitting image of Frisk. Of Chara. His shock began to warm as his chuckling grew to an almost barking laughter. Inching closer, he licked his lips in anticipation. He used to abhor the practice of absorbing human souls, never holding a soul long enough to absorb it. But that was back when he was weak and pathetic. Now, he could finally stop all the anomalies. He could bring balance to time. And that soul seemed to be such a delicious meal, too.

"Now I just need to unwrap it," he muttered, raising a tendril.

"No," the other child screamed, tears fueling their courage.

In just a moment, the crying child was cleaved in two and a red heart floated a few inches above the half of the body which was closest to him. He trembled as he took what he had long-denied himself, holding it in his right hand. As the warmth flowed through his arm to the rest of his body, he knew this was it. He stared at his hand, at the soul which was gradually losing size and color. This was the answer. But he was neither human nor monster: he was a god. He was a god who-

was feeling very cold.

He looked down and saw the foolish child less than an inch in front of him. There was a strange sensation in his torso, and a closer look showed that whatever kind of sword the child had, it was buried to the hilt. As he tried to piece together what had happened, he noticed that he couldn't feel his left shoulder. He looked and saw his left shoulder turning from dark black to white ash, blowing away in the breeze. His eyes went wide and he clutched the soul more tightly, hoping to speed up the process.

Then, he lost feeling in his entire body.

* * *

The child put one hand around their mouth and nose, trying to not breathe in whatever that dust was, even as their body began to hyperventilate. As whoever that monster was turned into ash. As the warm blood of their twin began to cool on their skin. As black spots began to swim across their vision from a lack of air, they noticed a white heart floating a few inches above their toy sword. They reached out and grabbed it to examine it. Anything to keep from thinking about what happened.

When some villagers finally arrived after hearing the first child's scream, they saw the survivor standing with a toy sword much too dull to create the carnage that stained the ground.

"It was a monster," the child whispered, trying to fight a smile.

* * *

Continue

Reset


	24. Reading the AN fills u w DETERMINATION

**Well, I hope you enjoyed the story! I'll amend this note in case the last scene needs more clarification, but this is just to explain the two-word "ending."**

 **That choice is offered not to Frisk or Chara, but to you, the reader. If you enjoyed the story, then life simply continued on with Gaster's life proceeding in a different order than most folks'. This universe does not get reset. Anything else I write is just a parallel universe.**

 **But if you wonder how things might be otherwise, then you can choose to reset. Pretty much everything will be changed in the next story, possibly including Gaster. (Re-do's will also count as resets.)**


End file.
